Some 7% of young men reported being plied with booze or drugs before unwanted sexual advances. (Shutterstock)

(Newser)
–
A huge proportion of young men say they have ended up submitting to unwanted sexual advances—and 95% of the time, a female they knew was the aggressor, according to new research. The study found that 43% of high school or college-age men reported being coerced into unwanted sexual behavior, CBS reports. "Sexual victimization continues to be a pervasive problem in the United States, but the victimization of men is rarely explored," the lead researcher said in a press release. "Our findings can help lead to better prevention by identifying the various types of coercion that men face and by acknowledging women as perpetrators against men."

How the coercion broke down: 18% said they were physically forced into it; 31% said they were verbally compelled. Around half of the students who gave in ended up having intercourse, while 40% said the result was kissing or fondling, the Smithsonian notes. Some 7% said they were coerced after being given alcohol or drugs—and experienced "significant distress" as a result. The unwanted sex, however, did not appear to affect the young men's self-esteem. "It may be the case that sexual coercion by women doesn't affect males' self-perceptions in the same way that it does when women are coerced. Instead it may inadvertently be consistent with expectations of masculinity and sexual desire," the lead researcher says.